BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Strange as it may seem today, there were at least a few occassions when Fishbowls took to the rails.....these pics were taken at the Branford (Shoreline) Trolley Museum, back in 1975. Sure gave you something to talk about at the dinner table(!!) http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?10979 http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?10980

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

....and....from the City Of Brotherly Love...... http://www.davesrailpix.com/pw/htm/pw126.htm

[Mr. Linsky]

John,

Here's a few interesting images of buses (mostly Macks) built for rail use.

BTW; the last photo isn't exactly a GM New Look rail bus, but it is a GM New Look being delivered by freight car!

All GM deliveries to west of the Rocky Mountains were made by rail car - the photo shows a 4517 arriving in Oakland, Ca. for AC Transit.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY

[Mr. Linsky]

And here's Japan's entry into 'dual mode' buses aptly called the 'DMV'.

For much more information, click on URL below.

http://faculty.washington.edu/jbs/itrans/japanese_dualmode.htm

Mr. 'L'

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Mr. "L": You beat me to the punch, here, my friend! I was going to post that rare old photo of the NEW HAVEN Mack railbus last evening, but, got too tired, and decided to call it a day!! Glad you're "on the ball"!! The NH unit represented a good idea that just didn't really see the light of day for the road. That particular rail bus was based on the C50 design. Thanks for sharing those other great pics as well!! John

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

BTW: That pic of the Fishbowl being delivered by rail is AWESOME!! Would have thought such a delivery would have been made on a flat car!! RARE, fascinating shot!!! John

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here's an interesting page on NH's Macks: http://www.danbury.org/drm/fcd-info.htm

[Hart Bus]

Does anyone know how many of these GM Look New Looks became Rail-buses? In 2002 after going with some friends to the Gathering of Buses at Double A in Rocky Hill we went north to Warehouse Point Trolley Museum in East Windsor CT. There are bus and fire truck museums on the Grounds. We saw #1712 parked in a garage.

Our hosts were gracious enough to give us copies of an article about the Fairmount Housing that operates the wheels to get the vehicle on and off the rails. The article commented that Philly was to buy 50 of these equipped vehicles but I don't think it happened.

The reason for my question is that the bus pictured in the article appears to be a GM New Look Surburban (no standee windows) and is numbered 409. Did Unit 410 linked by Poster 2629 be renumbered to 1712 by ConCO or is it a third unit.

The copy that was made is a copy of a copy and not really condusive to scanning. I'd prefer to mail a copy of the two pages to anyone who wants it. Send me a PM via this board and you'll get it by Sep 9/6.

[roymanning2000]

I recall three buses that were equipped with the Fairmont rail wheels. There was the Connecticut Co. TDH5303, a PD4106 (a Greyhound bus, I think) and a GM SDM5302 owned by Red Arrow Lines in the Philadelphia area.

Red Arrow was interested in converting one of its rail lines to these rail-buses. That was probably the 50-bus order referred to in the article. The order (if there actually was an order) was never built, at least not with the rail wheels.

The 4106 was tested for some sort of contemplated service to one of the New York airports. I'm not sure that Greyhound was really involved in the testing program. They may have simply loaned the bus to some public authority for the purpose. There were pictures of it in trade magazines at the time.

None of these buses did well in trials, especially in wet or inclement weather. If I recall correctly, the ride was supposed to be pretty rough, too.

Roy

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Hart Bus: I'm sure many of us here would also like the answer to that giant jackpot question! I'm going to take a WILD guess here, and say that only two were converted for rail/road use: the Connecticut Company bus, and the other used on the Red Arrow suburban trolley line.

My guess is that each company had one of thier Fishbowls euipped for rail operation, and that, when the experiment was over, they had the rail equipment removed and the buses finished out thier lives as conventional transit coaches. Anyway, that's my take..... John

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here's two more views of the Connecticut Company's Fishbowl railbus: http://nycsubway.org/perl/show?10981 http://nycsubway.org/perl/show?10982

[Mr. Linsky]

Hart Bus et al,

I don't know how many Fishbowls were converted to dual use, but I can tell you that not all were done so with paying passengers in mind.

In a photo, that seems to be missing from my file at the moment, a New Look is shown in railroad operation for the purpose of transporting track crews from one location to the next.

Undoubtedly, they carried with them the tools of the trade such as shovels, picks, hammers and spikes for repairs.

When I find the image, I will post it although I did so already many moons ago!

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY